Authors Note: To my wonderful readers-a little warning-this story will end at Chapter 31. Just thought you should be prepared:) Meanwhiile, here is Chapter 29-enjoy! He who believes in Karma does not condemn even the most corrupt, for they too have their chance to reform themselves at any moment. Though bound to suffer in woeful states, they have hope of attaining eternal Peace. By their own doings they have created their own Hells and by their own doings they can create their own Heaven too. Chapter 29 The maternity ward was relatively quiet. It was only eight in the morning and visiting hours had not really begun yet, but Justin was able to gain entrance by dropping Alex and Daphne’s names, telling the security guard he was a relative. He went straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and stood outside the window looking in. He stood there for at least five minutes before a nurse saw him and stuck her head out the door, asking him which baby he wanted to see. He muttered something about the Cherny twins and the nurse went back in and wheeled the two cribs closer to the window so he could look at the babies. There were both asleep, still wrapped in the same pink blankets they were in yesterday. There were name tags at the foot of each crib with the baby’s birth weight and length and someone had written in pencil, Justine and Alexandra. Justin stared at his daughters, the products of that one crazy night and all the months of drama and anxiety; these two little things that barely weighed anything. The one on the right, Alexandra, had her hand pressed to her cheek. It had somehow made its way out of the tight wrap babies were normally kept in and she seemed to be making an attempt to move her hand towards her mouth. She’s hungry…she’s going to end up being a thumb sucker if they don’t watch it. Why hasn’t anyone seen this? She might scratch her face and hurt herself. Justine started to move, wiggling a little, moving her head slowly, just as she had last night. He stared at her, fascinated, wondering what she would be like when she grew up. The light layer of fuzzy brown hair was starting to curl a little. He could see that they would at least have waves, if not more. He had heard that sometimes children were born with a full head of hair only to have it all fall out within a month to grow back a different color. He wondered if this would be the case with these girls. What color are their eyes? Will they look like me or Daphne or both of us? He continued to watch, unable to stop staring as the infants lay in their respective cribs. The nurse who had originally asked him if he wanted to see them came out of the side door again and told him she was going to wheel them into Daphne’s room for their morning feeding. “Did you want to come with us to Dr. Chanders’ room,” she asked. “No,” Justin said reluctantly. “I’ll come back later. Please, don’t even tell her I was here.” “Okay,” the nurse replied, wondering who he was. Probably a relative of Dr. Cherny’s she thought. He looked a lot like him. Justin made his way over to the elevator and down to the parking garage where he had left his car yesterday. He walked to it, hitting the unlock button on his remote, hearing the chirp as the car responded to the signal. He got in and put on his seat belt, making his way out of the garage, all on automatic mode. He had no idea where he was going. He handed the attendant his credit card and waited for them to ring up the charges for the overnight stay. He glanced at his cell. It was on the passenger seat and it was vibrating. Picking it up he saw Jennifer Taylor’s face smiling at him on the caller ID screen. “Mom, what’s up?” “Sweetheart, are you at home?” “No, I’m in my car. What do you need?” he asked in the same monotone. “Have you been to see Daphne and the girls yet?” “Mother, it’s nine in the fucking morning,” he replied, finally showing some emotion. “Justin, are you okay?” she asked. She was taken aback by his tone of voice. “I’m fine, Mother, I wish everyone would stop asking me that.” “Who else is asking?” “Never mind,” he sighed into the phone. “Is there another reason you called, or are we going to sit here and play twenty questions?” Jennifer was silent on the other line. Finally, she said, “I hope you plan on visiting Daphne today, Justin. She asked about you last night. So did her parents, and the Cherny’s were also inquiring after you. Everyone wants to congratulate you sweetheart, your babies are beautiful.” “They are not my babies mother. I’m just the donor. They belong to Alex and Daphne, and I’ve got to go. The light’s changed.” He hung up quickly, before Jennifer could even say good-bye. He made his way towards the expressway and when he got there, he headed North, towards Natrona Heights and the monastery. He pressed down on the gas and felt the BMW jump forward as it responded to his heavy foot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian sat at his desk at Kinnetik, looking out the window. He had just wrapped up the presentation with Brown Athletics for the new line of golf apparel. Now it was a question of lining up the big names for the golf tournament Brown was sponsoring at Pebble Beach. Brian had already put in the calls to several agents and was just waiting for call backs to see who would be available. His mind had started to wander halfway through the presentation and it was only because he was so good at his job that he got through it without a glitch. The last thing on his mind right now was golf. His brain was filled with thoughts of Justin and his sudden withdrawal. Brian had not made any headway in finding out what the problem was and he was not going to let another night like last night go by without at least making the attempt to knock some sense into Justin. He was interrupted in mid-thought by his buzzer going off and his secretary announcing that Alex was on the phone. “Hey, Alex,” Brian said, “How’s it going?” “Good. The girls are being moved out of NICU to the regular nursery which is a good sign. They seem to be doing really well and are feeding without a problem. Daphne’s had them in her room several times already. Which is why I’m calling,” Alex said. “Oh?” Brian asked, even though he knew what Alex was about to say. “Why hasn’t Justin been by to see us, Brian?” Brian sighed heavily and leaned his head back on his chair, closing his eyes and bringing his left hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was starting already, the headache, always brought on by stress. He could feel the slow creeping of the pain, barely a whisper right now but he knew that in about ten minutes it would arrive in its usual manner, with all the crescendo and banging of an entire symphony orchestra. He pulled the top drawer open and fished out the bottle of Aspirin. He spilled three onto his desk and then he reached for the glass and pitcher of water he always had handy. Downing all three in one gulp he put the glass down and replied, “I don’t know Alex. I have no idea why he hasn’t been to the hospital.” “Is he angry about something? Has anyone said anything to him?” “Alex, like I said. I don’t know. He refuses to talk about it and I’ve just had a fucked up night trying to get him to talk to me with no luck. He spent the entire night in his studio, doing God-knows-what.” “That’s terrible, Brian. What could possibly be the matter?” “Hell if I know. I’ve got to go to the airport in a few hours. Gus and Austin are flying in today, so I told Justin we’d meet at the house around four; hopefully he’ll be in a better frame of mind and I’ll get some answers.” “I hope so. Daphne is upset that he hasn’t been by to see the babies. He was with her everyday throughout this pregnancy and now he’s disappeared,” Alex said. “Our parents have been told, Brian, they all know the situation now and they’re finding it rather odd that he’s stayed away. We all are.” “I know. It is weird, I agree. Listen, I’ll try and find out what’s going on. In the meantime, tell Daphne to be patient. She knows him better than any of us. Whatever he’s wrestling with is occupying his thoughts right now and until he works this out there will be no talking to him.” “God,” Alex said. “How do you live with this, I had no idea he was so dramatic.” “Drama is his middle name Alex, and I live with it because this is who he is.” “Well, more power to you, that’s all I can say. Let me know if there’s anything I can do, okay?” “Thanks. How much longer will they be in the hospital?” Brian asked. “Probably three more days, depending on how things go. I’d rather they be there, where we can keep an eye on them, you know?” “Yeah, I hear you.” “Okay, well, keep in touch Brian,” Alex said just before he hung up. Brian put the phone down and continued to lean back against the head rest. He wasn’t exaggerating when he told Alex that he had spent a fucked up night trying to get anything out of Justin. It was probably closer to two in the morning when he finally fell asleep, waiting for Justin to come to bed, but it never happened. By the time he got up Justin had already left the house, without even a note. Yesterday he was worried, now he was starting to get pissed. The last time Justin had pulled a disappearing act on him was last year, when he was still wrestling with his decision to help Daphne and he promised at that time that he would never take off without at least letting Brian know where he was at. Brian picked up his cell and hit Justin’s number on the speed dial. After several rings, he finally picked up. “Hey,” Justin said. “Hey yourself…where are you?” Justin paused and then said, “I’m at the Monastery, Brian. I needed to see the Master.” “That’s fine, I’ve got no problem with that, but why didn’t you come to bed last night, or even this morning?” Brian heard Justin sigh into the phone and he waited for the answer to his question. When none was forthcoming he asked another, “Justin, are you planning on telling me what’s wrong or am I going to have to drag it out of you?” “Brian,” Justin said. “What?” “I don’t want to talk about this. I only picked up the phone because I promised you last year that I would never disappear without having the phone on but I really would rather be left alone right now. I need time to think.” “Think about what, exactly?” “I can’t talk about it,” Justin replied in his irritated voice. Brian responded, equally as irritated, “Well, it fucking sucks and you are starting to really piss me off, you know that?” “I’m sorry Brian. I’ll see you later, around four. That’s when you’ll be bringing Gus home, right?” “Right,” Brian replied and before he could say another word he heard the phone go dead. Justin had just hung up on him. What the fuck? He was interrupted by his secretary letting him know that Jennifer Taylor was on line two. Rolling his eyes, he picked up the phone. “Hey Grandma, how’s it going?” “Brian, it’s Jennifer.” “I know,” he dead panned. “Is everything okay? Between you and Justin, I mean.” “As far as I know,” he replied, not really wanting to delve into his private life with his mother-in-law. “Oh, that’s good,” she said, sounding relieved. “I was worried and I thought I had better check in with you to see what was bothering Justin. Have you noticed how strange he’s acting?” “Yes.” Jennifer hesitated, realizing belatedly that Brian wasn’t exactly spilling the beans either. “Do you have any idea what the problem is?” she asked. “No. Not really. But I plan on finding out.” “Well, okay Brian. I’ll let you go,” she said reluctantly, hoping that he would change his mind and divulge more. But he didn’t. “Okay, talk to you later,” Brian said, hanging up with a huge sigh of relief. He stood up and decided to stop by the hospital on his way to the airport. He could at least make an appearance since obviously Justin wasn’t planning on showing up today either. If Daphne was alone he could talk to her and maybe get some insight on Justin’s behavior. As he made the trip to the hospital, he kept going over the events of the last few days, trying to remember anything that may have happened to trigger this behavior in Justin. He had seemed perfectly happy up until the birth of the twins. Instead of being overjoyed that the delivery had been uneventful and that Daphne and the girls were doing well he seemed upset, angry almost. It was baffling and driving Brian crazy. He wasn’t even allowed to use his tried and tested means of pain management as Justin wouldn’t even get near him long enough to kiss him, let alone fuck some sense into him. He got to the hospital and handed over his car to the valet. He made his way inside, stopping at the little flower shop on the main floor of the hospital to pick up a bouquet of roses, something he would have never done in the past. He chuckled to himself as he paid for the flowers, thinking back on the many times he should have bought them and didn’t; either the world was coming to an end or he had actually mellowed with age. Brian walked into a room filled with people. It seemed that everyone in the family had the same idea, to come and visit and see the twins. Alex’s parents were on one side of the room, talking to each other in Russian. The Chanders were on the opposite side of the room, sitting on the two visitor’s chairs while Alex was sitting at the foot of Daphne’s bed, conversing with Max and Emmett who had arrived shortly before Brian did. “Whoa,” Brian said. “This place looks like Babylon on buy-one-get-one-free night.” “Hey Brian,” Daphne said. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw him. “Is Justin here too?” she asked. “No, just me,” Brian answered, handing Daphne the bouquet of roses, and kissing her on the cheek. “Congratulations, Daphne, your daughters are beautiful.” She beamed at him and said, “They are perfect, aren’t they?” “Yes they are. I didn’t really get to see them much yesterday, has anyone seen what color their eyes are?” Brian asked, curious. He had heard that brown eyes were more dominant than blue and he wondered if either of the girls had inherited Justin’s unusual blue. “I saw one of them open her eyes last night, when I was breast feeding,” Daphne said. “But the room was dark, and I was half asleep so I couldn’t really tell.” “Well, you’ll get to see them shortly,” Alex said. “It’s just about time for their feeding.” And even as he said this, they all heard two little voices crying in unison as the nurses knocked on the door and wheeled the cribs in. “The girls are hungry, Dr. Chanders,” one of the nurses said. “God, I’ll say,” Emmett replied. “Sounds like feeding time at the zoo. Exactly how does one go about feeding twins,” Emmett asked, gesturing with his hand and pointing at the two girls then at Daphne’s breasts. “The same way you feed any baby, Em,” Daphne said, taking one of the girls from the nurse. “One at a time.” “Do you want us to leave you alone?” Alex asked her. “No, I think I figured out how to do this without anyone actually seeing anything. You guys can stay,” she said. Daphne placed the baby at her breast and covered herself and the baby with the blanket the nurse had given her, while she positioned herself with the baby at her nipple. As soon as she felt the first pull of the little mouth, she also felt her milk letting down and her uterus contracting as nature did its job, helping her body along in the healing process. She made a face as the contractions intensified, even as the baby sucked away happily. “Does it hurt, sweetie?” Emmett asked, grimacing. “You look like you’re in pain?” “No, it’s fine, Em. It just hurts for a few seconds, and then it goes away.” “Thank God I have a dick,” Emmett muttered softly, even as Max jabbed him with his elbow. The mewling and crying from the baby who was waiting to be fed intensified and Alex’s father moved over to the crib and looking at Alex, asked if he could pick her up. “Da, Papa, go ahead, pick her up. Which one do you have?” Alex asked from the other side of the room. “Alexandra,” he said, looking at the name on the little pink and white bracelet on the baby’s tiny wrist. “Sasha,” he crooned, rocking his granddaughter. “Alexandra is too big a name for such a little girl, this is my little Sasha,” he said again in Russian. Alex smiled when he heard that. “What did Papa say, Alex?” Daphne asked. “He’s given her a nickname, he says Alexandra is too big for such a tiny thing.” “What her nickname?” she asked. “Sasha. It’s a diminutive for Alexandra. It’s used a lot in Russian families, as a form of endearment.” “I like it,” Daphne said, smiling at her father-in-law. “Let’s use it.” “Okay,” Alex said, smiling back at her. He walked over to his father and they looked at the little baby in his arms and just then she stopped crying and opened her eyes. They were brown, with a little bit of green and yellow, hazel almost, not really brown. “Daphe, her eyes are brown; like yours,” Alex said happily. Everyone crowded around Alex and his father to get a better look. Brian peered over the group to see what they were all looking at. “Yup,” he said. “They’re definitely in the brown family and I can already see a resemblance to you, Daphe,” Brian pronounced. “It’s too soon for that Brian,” Daphne said. “No, I think Brian is right, Daphne,” Mrs. Chanders said, joining the crowd and looking at her granddaughter, “There’s definitely a resemblance to our side of the family,” she said proudly. “Alex, come and take Justine. She’s done and needs to be burped.” Alex went over to Daphne and took the now sleeping infant from her breast. His father in turn handed Sasha over so that she could have her turn nursing. After the exchange was made, Alex tried to get the sleepy one to burp but she was having none of it. Her eyes were tightly shut and her tiny lips were pursed into a little bow, all pink and pouty. Alex looked at his mother helplessly, wondering how he was going to make the baby burp and finally, she took the sleeping child and flipped her over easily, holding her chest in one hand and tapping her back lightly with the other. Almost instantly a nice healthy burp was heard by everyone. “Ahh,” Alex’s mother said with a big grin, satisfied that she hadn’t lost her touch after so many years. She turned the little girl over and as she did so, the baby opened her eyes and smiled at her grandmother. Brian happened to be beside Irina Cherny when she did this and his breathing almost stopped when he saw the baby. “Sunshine,” he said under his breath, as the little girl looked first at him then at her grandmother with eyes that were as blue as the sky. It was the smile that shocked Brian though. It was Justin’s smile, the same time-stopping, room-brightening smile; it had transformed her face instantly. She was radiant and for the second time in his life, Brian fell in love. “Oh-my-God,” he whispered. “Will you look at that smile.” “Yes,” Mrs. Cherny said, in halting English. “She’s a sun, beautiful and shinning. Sorina,” she said gently, bringing the baby up to her lips and kissing her cheek. “Sorina?” Brian questioned. “Is sun in Romania,” Mrs. Cherny declared. “Soare means sun. For boy, Sorin, but for girl is Sorina. Is good name for baby,” she said, looking from Brian to Daphne and Alex. “Sorina?” Daphne repeated. “But I like Justine, doesn’t anyone like Justine?” “It’s a beautiful name Daphne,” her mother said from the other side of the room, “But it is rather confusing having a Justin and a Justine. I think Sorina is a pretty nickname.” “Alex?” Daphne asked. “Mama,” Alex called to his mother. He started speaking to her in Russian, getting the full etiology of the name Sorina so he could explain it to everyone. “Well, it’s exactly like she said. It’s the female version of Sorin, which is derived from the Romanian word for sun which is Soare. I like it,” he said. “It’s nice that they’ll both have shorter names and both starting with ‘S’.” “Okay, let’s vote on it,” Daphne said surprising everyone. Just then there was a knock on the door and Jennifer Taylor peered in. “May I come in?” she said. She had a box in her hand, beautifully gift-wrapped. “Of course, please Jennifer, we were just about to take a vote. Come in and look at your granddaughters,” Alex said, grabbing her by the hand and bringing her over to the area where Brian stood with Irina Cherny and one of the twins. “Jennifer,” Brian said, bending down and giving her a peck on the cheek. “You’ve got to see this kid.” Jennifer put the gift box down on a table and moved over to look at the baby. “Justin,” she uttered in surprise, when the little girl beamed her way. Jennifer’s eyes instantly filled with tears and she dabbed at them quickly with the back of her hand. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly to the whole group. “She looks so much like him, I wasn’t expecting that.” “I know,” Brian said at her side. “None of us were.” “May I?” she asked Daphne, who nodded happily. She reached over as Mrs. Cherny passed the baby to her and she laughed gently when the little one continued to stare at her wide-eyed. “Babies aren’t supposed to be seeing anything this soon, but I swear this one seems to be looking right through me,” she muttered to know one in particular as she caressed the baby’s head of soft brown curls. “Can you bring her over here, Mrs. Taylor? I’d like to see what you are all talking about,” Daphne said. “Of course, sweetie,” Jennifer replied. “Don’t you think that you should stop calling me Mrs. Taylor, since we’re definitely related now?” Daphne and Alex smiled at her. Alex thought she was one of the most beautiful and gracious ladies he had met in a long time. She had such a peaceful aura and she never failed to have a smile on her face. He hoped his daughters would pick up a lot of her characteristics. Jennifer placed the baby on the bed in front of Daphne who was still breast feeding Sasha. Daphne bent over to stare at her daughter and then looked at Alex. “You better have your speech ready, Alex,” she said, tongue-in-cheek. “What speech?” “The one you plan on making to all the guys who darken our doorstep. You may have to hire a body guard for this one,” she laughed softly, “She’s quite beautiful if I do say so myself.” Alex looked down at the baby and said, “They both are Daphne, in different ways. But this one looks just like Justin, I see that already.” He continued to look at his daughter and he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I think Sorina is a perfect name for her. She lights up the room, don’t you think so Jennifer?” “Sorina?” Jennifer asked. “I thought her name was Justine Brianna.” “It is,” Alex replied. “My mother just called her Sorina when the baby smiled at her. It’s sun in Romanian, and it automatically came out of her mouth.” “Well, I for one think it’s perfect for her,” Brian said from across the room. “Its exotic and different and Mrs. Chanders is right. It would be confusing as hell to have a Justin and a Justine. As a matter of fact,” Brian continued, “You guys better figure out what these kids are going to call everyone. They’re almost going to need index cards for all the immediate family. I mean five grandparents and two sets of parents can be a problem if everyone is called the same thing so I would get on the names from the get-go.” “Brian’s right sweetie,” Emmett chirped in. “Have you thought about what they’re going to call Brian and Justin? I mean you and Alex are Mom and Dad but what are they going to call the other fathers?” Alex and Daphne looked at each other in surprise. “Honestly,” Daphne said, “We haven’t really talked about it.” “They’re right, dear,” Mr. Chanders said, finally breaking his silence. He never was one to talk much, he left that to his wife and daughter, but when he did say something, it usually made a whole lot of sense. “I think you and Alex should decide right now so that all of us are on the same page.” “Okay,” Daphne said. “Alex, do you have a preference?” “Well, I’ve always called my father Papa and I would like my girls to call me that, rather then Dad.” “That’s perfect,” Daphne answered. “And I’ll be Mama or Mom, whichever they prefer.” “What do you prefer?” Alex asked. “I guess Mama is fine.” “Okay. And of course my parents are going to be Babushka and Dedushka, right Papa?” Alex asked his father who was across the room listening to this whole exchange. He nodded at Alex and grinned, “Da, I will teach them Russian.” “That is marvelous,” Mrs. Chanders said. “They will grow up bi-lingual, which can only help them in the future.” Daphne rolled her eyes, so typical of her over-achieving mother, already thinking about the future and the girl’s potential. “And I would like be called Nana, instead of Grandmother but your father can be Grandfather Chanders. Is that okay with you Daphne?” Mrs. Chanders asked, expecting no argument from anyone. “That’s fine mother, if that’s what you want,” Daphne replied. “And me?” Jennifer asked. “Do you mind being Grandma Jen?” Alex asked gently. “That’s what Gus calls me. I would love it if the girls called me that too,” Jennifer replied, her eyes tearing up again. “Alright,” Brian said. “That’s all settled.” “No it’s not,” Daphne countered. “What are the girls going to call you and Justin?” “I don’t give a fuck!” “Language!” everyone yelled out in unison. Brian started laughing, “Sorry,” he said sheepishly looking at the babies. “They can’t understand anything yet.” “But they will sooner than you know, so curb your potty mouth,” Daphne said, disapprovingly. “Christ,” Brian muttered. “How would you feel if the girls just call them Daddy ‘J’ and Daddy ‘B’?” Jennifer asked. “It worked for Gus, why not keep it the same?” “Brian?” Alex asked. “That’s fine. I don’t give a fu, I mean, whatever, it’s all good.” “Okay then,” Daphne said, smiling at Brian. “Now it’s all settled.” TBC